Sanderson is a Republican stronghold. About 20% of voters here vote Democratic and 80% Republican.
About 43% of adults in Sanderson typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sanderson, ~9% vote Democratic, ~34% Republican, and ~57% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sanderson compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Sanderson leans more Republican than 83 of 139 neighbors.
Sanderson runs about 18 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sanderson. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+63) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+42), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Sanderson leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Sanderson, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Sanderson, about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 11 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Sanderson sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 3%, below 92% of cities). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in Sanderson are family households, above 81% of cities.
Developed land and Republican lean
Places with a rural land-use pattern tend to lean Republican; Sanderson, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Sanderson looks the way it does
Areas with high food insecurity turn out at lower rates. About 23% of adults in Sanderson report food insecurity, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 16%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Quick, WV R+65
- Coalridge, WV R+56
- Schrader, WV R+57
- Queen Shoals, WV R+63
- Youngs Bottom, WV R+53
- Blount, WV R+57
- Glen, WV R+67
- Clendenin, WV R+62
- Pinch, WV R+41
Cities with Similar Populations
- Bairoil, WY R+64
- Driftwood, OK R+81
- Tiptop, KY R+71
- Ross, AR R+66
- Decker, MT Even
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.